A year and a half of blogging

Last week my blog turned 18 months old, and I’m proud to say that I have been blogging for a year and a half. I no longer feel like a newbie on the blogging scene, I feel like I know my stuff. I’m at a stage where I’m offering pieces of advice to other bloggers, although I’ve still got a lot to learn. I’m also at a stage where my blog is no longer a secret, it’s shared a lot, perhaps some might say over shared. But I love it, and that’s what important that 18 months down the line I’m still loving it.

A lot has happened over the past 18 months since starting my blog. I finished maternity leave, went back to work, quit work, started the Digital Mums course, and put a lot more focus into the blog. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, but with lots of fun and opportunities thrown in.

As it’s my 18 month blog anniversary it makes sense to take a little look at my blog goals I set at the start of the year to see how I’m getting on.

Goal 1: To be better organised with my blogging and put more of a structure in place. At the start of the year I set myself a goal to post twice a week on a Sunday and Wednesday. Well, since having more time on my hands, I’ve more of less been posting every day over the past two months. It’s brilliant for engagement, and I’ve seen a steady increase in traffic from doing this, so I see this goal as well and truly met.

Goal 2: To be better with my social media use. I set this goal as I found that I was on social media all the time. I would say that I still am on social media all the time, and I definitely need to be more disciplined moving forward.

Goal 3: To set my core blog brand values. This is something that I have not done at all. Although I would say that my blog is more focused in terms of content and brands that I’m working with, I still haven’t set my defined brand values, or written them down anywhere.

Goal 4: Have a permanent brand partnership set-up. This one is still in the pipeline. I’ve been lucky to work with some brilliant brands this year, and we’ve received some really nice products to review. I would still love to have a brand partnership achieved by the end of the year, however I would happily settle to continue working with brands on one-off campaigns and reviews.

Goal 5: To attend at least two blog conferences. Done! I’ve been to three Lucky Things meet ups so far this year. Although these are not large blog conferences or specifically related to blogging, they are events where I get to meet some other bloggers, learn a lot, and usually find some opportunities for the blog. I’ve also booked my ticket to Britmums live that is taking place at the end of September.

Goal 6: To continue co-hosting #fortheloveofBLOG. The Linky has had its ups and downs. Myself and Fi took a break from it earlier this year, and then stopped running it altogether. It’s now back up and running again, and I have new co-host; Kelly from Bringing Up Georgia. I’m enjoying co-hosting again, but there is a lot of work to do to bring the community back together, and see the number of link-ups we were previously getting.

Goal 7: To improve my stats. Don’t we just love a stat. Here’s what I said I wanted to achieve.

Twitter – 10,000 followers. I’m currently at 7,234 followers, and I would hope that 10,000 followers is possible to achieve by the end of the year.

Facebook – 250 followers. Done, and I’ve doubled it.

Instagram – 1,000 followers. Done

Page views – maintain over 5000 page views a month. At the moment I’m getting about 6000 page views a month, with about 3000 unique visitors. I’ve found competitions to be a brilliant way to help boost traffic, and sharing my blog posts on my personal Facebook page, and local Facebook groups helps a lot too.

With it being halfway through the year, I’m feeling quite proud of what I’ve achieved so far, and there are other achievements that I am proud of including being a finalist in London’s Top Mummy Blogger, and being at 208th place in the Tots100 chart. There is lots more to do, there always is with a blog, and I’m excited about what the next 6 months will bring.

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27 Comments

Wow congrats on all of your hard work. Your blog was one of the first parenting blogs I discovered last year. You’ve done so much Claire!!! So fab we get it hang out in real life too. Who knows what you’ll end up doing over the next 18 months. Love your ambition and spirit. Xx #fortheloveofBLOGSunita recently posted…Why hearing others’ fertility and IVF journeys still brings me tears

Wow – you’ve done brilliantly!! I’m almost a year in and I’m just beginning to take my blog seriously and really get stuck into it! Hopefully I’ll be able to make a great go of it as well! #fortheloveofBLOGCherry at The Newby Tribe recently posted…Hamerton Zoo Park Review And Competition!

You are doing a brilliant job Claire. Your blog is fab, keep it up and good luck with Digital Mums. I can only hope that I’m nearing what you’ve achieved in 18 months x
#ForTheLoveofBLOGHelen @Talking_Mums recently posted…Hyperemesis Gravidarum, PIH and EMCS with KatyKicker

It sounds like you’ve come a long way and have some really good goals in place – here’s to growing even more over the next 6 months! #fortheloveofBLOGThe Squirmy Popple recently posted…Flexi Mamas: Victoria from Lylia Rose

Wow, you’ve achieved so much and are obviously thriving. Congrats on your 18 month birthday. I’ve only been going for 5 months so still got a lot to learn but love getting tips from bloggers like yourself. #fortheloveofBLOGSusie/So Happy In Town recently posted…Why Can’t We Let Our Kids Just Be?

Wow, it seems like you’re doing really well with your goals – congrats!
My blog is very new (2 weeks-ish), and I have yet to look at setting myself any goals. TBH this is my third blog! Previous 2 failed (due to lack of interest on my part!) I just want to get fully into the swing of it all first with this one, and then look at goals, but I know I’ve found ‘my voice’ now, so that’s good. But this is great inspiration for when I’m ready to set those goals in the next month or so! Keep it up!

Ah wow congratulations. Those page views are amazing. I wanted to reach 5000 a month by the end of the year and I’m no way near. I need to do my half a year review actually, you’ve just reminded me! Well done on all you’ve achieved. I started to blog 4 times a week up from twice and noticed more traffic, but then I fell pregnant and got ill and had to cut it back. Now I’m feeling better I am going to try up it again. It’s great you’ve got this new focus and time for your blog now, I’m excited to see where it goes and watch all your digital mums progress xx #FortheloveofBLOGSusie at This Is Me Now recently posted…#funseekingkids round-up week 15

You’ve done so well in the past 18 months, you really should be so proud of yourself and the progress you’ve made. I think the goals you put in place are so good, but also so achievable as well! #fortheloveofBLOGMrs Mummy Harris recently posted…The Misconception with 13 Reasons Why…

Congratulations on the 18 months blogging and all the other goals you’ve reached throughout this year, you are doing truly fantastic. Keep up the great work and those last goals will be achieved in no time. #fortheloveofBlog

You’ve done so well, and I can only hope to be where you are in a year’s time!! At just 6 months in, it can be easy to compare yourself to others, but we are all just doing what we do!! So happy to have the linky back!!Go you! #fortheloveofBLOGAleena recently posted…Ragtag Risotto: Let’s Get Cooking!

You’ve achieved so much in 18 months. I’ve been blogging for three years and still feel stuck in the same place with only a few hundred views a month! Some great goals and I will be inspired to try and follow some of them. Thanks for running #fortheloveofblog

PS. I wish there was an equivalent Digital Mums for dads – we need help too!

Claire you are doing just brilliantly and I am in totally awe of the number of times you post! You deserve every success with this blog. You’ve set realistic goals and you are just going up and up! Seriously well done my lovely xx #fortheloveofBLOG ps I wonder whether your linky was better on a saturday for figures – there’s a lot of linkys out there in the week and I loved yours on a saturday for a bit of a sit down and reading blog session with a coffee as i was more relaxed at the weekend – just my opinion my lovely xxjustsayingmum recently posted…Be You

That’s so awesome that you are meeting your goals! I’ve just started taking my blogging seriously (not just a hobby) and I don’t even know what my goals should be lol. Right now I’m just focused on improving every month, however small those gains are. Congrats so far!

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Hi I'm Claire. I'm a first time Mum, living in London with my daughter and husband, blogging my way through life. I set up my blog as a way to capture life with our little one, and to share our adventures with you all. I'm also on the quest to become a Social Media Manager with Digital Mums.

I am contactable for any PR requests and collaborations on thepramshedblog@gmail.com